at both ends
by apolausta
Summary: Naruto isn't sure when it starts, Kakashi has no idea what he's doing, and other people can't mind their own business, but eventually everyone agrees it was kind of inevitable. Kakashi/fem!Naruto. A drabble experiment of sorts.
1. golden girl

1 - golden girl

Naruto huffed, knowing she was pouting just a little, but irritated enough to do it anyway. She eyed the bottle in her hand uneasily. Mousey brown just really wasn't her color, and she wasn't looking forward to what her next mission entailed at all, hair dye notwithstanding.

A tap at her bedroom window startled Naruto out of her little sulk, not that she would call it that. She glanced up, sheepish at her own surprise, to see Kakashi crouched on the now open window's edge, one brow raised inquiringly.

"Ah, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto put down the bottle of dye and turned to face her unexpected guest. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to check if you had any questions about our mission." He casually hopped down with a deceptive ease, ambling into the room proper and settling onto the chair by Naruto's nightstand. Although Kakashi was acting as if his popping by to check in on her while she was sitting on her bed was a perfectly normal event, the man hadn't actually been in Naruto's bedroom since she moved out of her old apartment—the one from her genin days, with the small bathroom with the leaky pipes and several ramen cups scattered around (she was going to throw them out soon, really!)—ten months ago after finally caving at Sakura's increasingly stubborn insistence. It was a bit sad, to be honest, if only because Kakashi was actually now her sort-of neighbor, being the resident of the floor below hers (not that she had known when she had moved in, so that had been a bit of a surprise). Naruto had actually seen more of Kakashi when she lived at her old place and he'd show up to force vegetables into her diet.

Through no fault of any individual, really, besides maybe the person who decided mission assignments—okay, actually it was Tsunade-baachan's fault, now that she'd thought about it twice—Kakashi and Naruto hadn't really spent much time together since they all collectively prevented the End of the World As They Knew It. It'd been a flurry of activities and mission after mission, and while Naruto had somehow managed to see most of everyone else (Sasuke was still on in-village probation, Sakura was at the hospital most of the time, and everyone else she managed to bump into one way or another), somehow Kakashi's and Naruto's leaves never matched up.

Recently, however, things have settled down enough that they could all take a breath, figuratively speaking. So the Godaime Hokage, in all her wisdom, decided to assign Naruto on a technically S-class but not actually Dangerous-For-Naruto infiltration mission where circumstances meant she couldn't use chakra if she wanted to keep her cover. Which meant no henges—which meant actually, physically, dyeing her hair. Naruto scowled again, remembering her current dilemma.

While the kunoichi remained obliviously lost in thought, Kakashi took the opportunity to subtly observe her room. In one corner there was a pile of blank and used scrolling seals, ink, and supplies—and when had Naruto known anything about fūinjutsu? Was that Minato-sensei's notebook he spotted? A tapestry with the Konoha symbol hung above her headboard, just as it had in her old room. Plants dotted the space tastefully, and Kakashi spotted only one empty ramen container on the nightstand. It was also more colorful than her previous bedroom, with cheery accents of orange here and there.

 **Brat, you never responded to him.** Kurama nudged Naruto in her mind.

 _Ah, right_. Naruto squinted at Kakashi while he looked mildly back at her, expectantly. She shrugged, saying, "Nah, the mission scroll was pretty clear."

"You don't look happy, though," Kakashi responded, nodding at the bottle Naruto had placed next to her.

"Yeah, I just," Naruto huffed, chuckling at herself a little self-consciously. "I guess it's a little vain of me, but I didn't want to actually dye my hair if I could help it." She gestured at her hair helplessly, as if to express herself further in some way. It flowed freely, pooling around where she sat atop her covers.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Never really expected you to care all that much about appearance," he remarked lightly.

"Yeah, I don't generally, but it's not really about that, believe it." She looked down at her lap. "It's the same color as Tou-chan's hair, and I keep it long because of Kaa-chan." She glanced at Kakashi from below lowered lashes, and then smiled a little shyly. "I like it the way it is."

Suddenly, Kakashi was in front of Naruto, closer than he'd been in a long time (maybe since their last spar?). Naruto's breath hitched a little in surprise, and the room felt smaller, somehow, even though it'd been a perfectly adequate size just a moment ago.

Naruto looked at Kakashi, and was taken aback by the softness of the expression she could discern even though most of his face was covered. She saw the small smile from shadows underneath the ever-present mask.

Kakashi took a lock of silky hair and let it slide through his fingers.

"Since we're being honest," Kakashi looked up from her hair to Naruto's surprised reaction. "I prefer gold, as well."

And then he disappeared out the open window, leaving Naruto staring after him.

 _I'm not sure what just happened_ , Naruto thought, a bit dazed.

* * *

"What just happened?" Kakashi, safely ensconced in his own apartment one floor below, asked Mr. Ukki.

* * *

 **Children** , Kurama snorted.

* * *

notes: almost all blame for this monstrosity lies upon CrownsofLaurels' Making Arrangements. for more notes about this fic, headcanons, or if you have questions, please visit my tumblr. link in my profile.

prompt: I prefer gold.

Naruto is at least eighteen in all drabbles unless otherwise specified.


	2. plots

0.5 - plots

"Naruto, you're a jōnin, you can afford a better apartment, I swear to god." Sakura threw a pillow in Naruto's direction while Sakura, for whatever reason, laid down on the rug with her feet propped up on her bed. She overshot, however, and the pillow landed far past the target; Naruto ignored it.

"I know, but," Naruto shrugged, absentmindedly running her fingers through one of her pigtails. "It's just… I've been here a while, you know? During all of it, really. And I'm not really fussy, anyway."

At this Sakura sat up and looked at Naruto, and her expression softened a little. Both women spent a brief moment reflecting on the past. The apartment _had_ been through a lot. Naruto had lived here during her time at the Academy, through the creation of Team Seven, the whole fiasco with Sasuke, that bastard— _although technically_ , Naruto conceded to herself, _I guess it's just a replica after Nagato's attack_. Naruto kind of missed the cracks in the wall of the original, if she was being honest. She sighed. It had only been a short few years after Konoha had been devastated, but at least rebuilding efforts had been efficient and effective, and now the village stood strong despite it all—thank the ramen gods for Yamato and his mokuton.

Consciously brushing aside the uncharacteristically melancholy mood, Sakura emphatically pointed at Naruto as she exclaimed, "Naruto, you won't even need to pay that much to move, let's be real. No way will your new landlord not give you some outrageous discount and, like, free ramen on top of that for saving the world."

Naruto rubbed her head a smidge sheepishly at that, smiling a little. "Maybe," she agreed, "but I wouldn't want to take advantage, and you're right that I can afford it."

Sakura smiled triumphantly. "Let's go apartment hunting then!" She energetically grabbed the blonde by her hand and pulled her towards the door.

"Wait, Sakura-chan, I haven't actually agreed yet!" Naruto protested, though she didn't really resist her friend's manhandling.

"At least check it out together with me. C'mon, it'll be fun!" Sakura smiled brightly and Naruto laughed, mood brightened, and, finally giving in, let herself be pulled along.

* * *

notes: no prompts this time! since this drabble grew from the last chapter. I've been completely surprised and overwhelmed by the response to this fic (honestly written on a whim).

as always, further notes are at my tumblr, the link which is in my profile (if I can get it to work - if not, it's apolausta as well)

since I doubt many of you will travel all the way there, however, here are some tl;dr points

\- these are drabbles based on prompts I find from tumblr

\- chapters are numbered chronologically (this one is 0.5 because it happens before the prior chapter, if that's not obvious from context)

\- drabble lengths will vary depending on how my inspiration strikes


	3. just keep running

2 - just keep running~

"Okay, I definitely did not sign up for this," Naruto yelled to be heard over the sound of a collapsing building as she and Kakashi both ran from several pursuing and apparently hostile ninja (judging from the giant fūma shuriken Naruto had to duck). "I thought this was supposed to be an easy infiltration mission!"

"And yet why am I not surprised," Kakashi muttered under his breath, words muffled by his mask. Pakkun, running next to him, snorted quietly in response.

Naruto spun her head around to glare at Kakashi, her (currently brown) braid swinging with the momentum. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing," Kakashi raised both hands in a gesture of placation, wondering how the girl had managed to hear him with the ruckus in the background—the Kyūbi's influence, perhaps?

Naruto flicked her head back forward with a huff. "Hey, I know that my past record is not the most… subtle—but it wasn't even my fault this time!"

"I thought you liked the more ostentatious missions?" Kakashi inquired.

"Ostentatious?"

"—loud."

"Ah." Naruto smiled a little sheepishly. "I mean, if the problem can be solved with a good old rasengan to the face I'm all for it, but usually I know in advance if brute force is what we're looking for, you know? But this time I had to dye my hair and dress all girly and learn a cover and all that, and now it's all gone to waste." She looked a smidge mournful as she dodged a couple of senbon. "It was kinda fun being someone else for a change."

Kakashi threw a few kunai behind him without looking, only pausing briefly to listen for the pain-filled shouts that meant the projectiles had met their mark.

"You did well, Naruto," Kakashi directed one smiling eye at his sometimes-student. The mission had gone to shit in the end, but hey, Naruto wasn't lying when she said it wasn't her fault, and she had executed her part with more finesse than anyone had really expected. Which might have been a low bar to judge by, but no one had to say that out loud.

Naruto grinned happily, tingling with pleasure at the rare praise from one of her most respected precious people.

"If you have time to talk, you should keep running," Pakkun intoned gruffly.

"Yes, yes, your majesty," Kakashi sighed. Naruto just kept silent while increasing her pace, smile still clearly visible on her face.

* * *

prompt: you should keep running.


	4. promises, promises

θ.1 - promises, promises

 _~ sometime in the future ~_

"I'm not sure why this always happens to me," Kakashi grumbled suddenly while lying on their shared bed, knee recently wrapped by Ino (Kakashi had refused to go to the hospital and Sakura was still on a mission). _Icha Icha Violence_ lay spread open and covered the sulking jōnin's face, as if he'd read the novel so many times he'd progressed to the point of somehow being able to absorb the erotica's content through osmosis.

"Old age?" Naruto remarked cheekily from the doorway, leaning on the frame as she wiped her hands on a towel.

Kakashi eyed her from above the book, both eyebrows raised in affront. "Pardon?"

"I mean, you're forty, which is like, basically ancient." Naruto waggled her eyebrows and stuck out her tongue. "You already have the white hair."

At this, Kakashi deigned to move the book off his face and sit up. "Excuse you, I am thirty-eight and in the prime of my life." He squinted at Naruto, muttering "also it's silver, thank you very much."

Naruto let out a laugh at the old gripe as she wandered over to bend down and gently place a kiss on Kakashi's uncovered nose. "Dinner's ready."

Kakashi sniffed the air. "You put eggplant in the soup?"

"Just for you," Naruto smiled.

Kakashi looked at the bedroom door, which (in his current overwhelmingly comfortable position) seemed oh-so-far away, and then back at his partner. "Can we eat in bed tonight?" He asked hopefully, a touch of a whine bleeding into his tone.

"You just don't want to move, you big baby," Naruto laughed.

"Hey," Kakashi complained with a put-upon hurt voice. "I can't be a baby and an old man at the same time."

"Of course you can, you big old man baby," Naruto said as she headed towards the door, picking up the towel she had put aside during the course of their conversation. Before she got very far, however, Kakashi's hand shot out to grab a hold of her wrist, tugging her towards him so that she fell onto the bed besides him. He maneuvered her under him so that he straddled her, his face looming over hers close enough that his hair tickled her forehead.

Their breaths intermingled.

"And what does that say about you, hmm?" Kakashi murmured. "Considering you married this old man baby."

Naruto smirked as she brought her arms around Kakashi's neck, pulling him closer. "It says that I have terrible, terrible taste." Kakashi's hands crept under her shirt, running up and down Naruto's sides as she bridged the gap between their lips, kissing him thoroughly for a brief moment before pulling back, leaning her forehead against his. "Also, that you obviously have enough energy to eat dinner properly." Naruto flipped them both around so that she sat on top, being sure not to jostle Kakashi's still-sore knee. She then leaned down to give Kakashi one last kiss, cheekily swiping a lick across his bottom lip before getting up, offering Kakashi a hand after having done so.

Kakashi looked at the hand forlornly. "Aw, I liked where that was going."

Naruto pulled Kakashi up forcibly. "We'll see about after dinner, but I didn't slave over a meal just for it to go cold."

"After dinner?" Kakashi inquired hopefully as Naruto lead him out of the bedroom.

"Sure," Naruto winked. "It's a promise."

* * *

prompt: you could stretch it.

notes: okay so I actually had this written/typed a while ago.

but I try to have the chapter after the next fully written before posting the next one.

except the next one just keeps growing... so I'm posting this now to motivate me to finish it haha

more notes at my tumblr

extra notes this time because I was too lazy to last time lol. honestly, check it out if you have questions about the numbering system, my plans for this fic, sneak peaks of the next chapter, shit like that. although I don't write this for reviews, reviews are love! (and they definitely get me motivated to write faster ;])


	5. kanpai?

3 - kanpai?

Tenten ducked under the banners at the entrance of the izakaya, pushing them aside to enter and spot Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Shikamaru, Chōji, and Neji in their usual corner. Sakura and Ino had already started on the drinks, while Chōji was currently yelling for more food.

"Lee'll be here in twenty minutes or so," Tenten remarked as she slid into her seat. "He got caught up in one of his ridiculous challenges again." Although she rolled her eyes, the affection in her voice was obvious. Tenten cast a glance around, asking: "Is Team 8 on a mission? And where's Naruto?"

"Yeah, Team 8's out with Sai," Ino responded. (And oops, Tenten always managed to forget about Sai. She shook it off a little guiltily.)

"Naruto's finishing up with Tsunade-shishō," Sakura pitched in. "She should be here soon." As she said so, she took another shot of sake.

"Bad week at the hospital?" Shikamaru drawled.

"I had a rotation in pediatrics," Sakura groaned. "Terminal illnesses."

Those at the table winced in sympathy. Taking care of children with incurable diseases was always a little taxing on the soul, though someone had to do it, and those kids deserved the best that they could get.

Battling through a world war and fending off a potential apocalypse together is a fantastically effective bonding exercise, and after everything had settled down their generation of ninja still made an effort to meet up and catch up. It had somehow become a fast tradition for those who were available to meet at this izakaya on Fridays for dinner and drinks; even Sasuke managed to make an appearance most of the time (usually through the efforts of either Sakura or Naruto. If pressed, Sasuke claimed it was just because the location happened to have excellent rice balls, but Sakura suspected that he actually enjoyed their weekly get-togethers).

"And what's up with you, Ino?" Chōji asked. "Boy trouble?"

Ino turned to glare at Chōji. "I'll have you know that I had a tough rotation at the hospital, too," she sniffed. And then sighed. "And yes, boy troubles."

"Why is nobody surprised?" Shikamaru muttered under his breath. Chōji and Sasuke, both seated near him, snorted while Ino thankfully remained oblivious.

"Honestly though, I'm swearing off relationships for a while this time. They just require too much work and not enough reward." Ino flapped a hand dismissively, and then aborted the gesture to order another drink.

"What happened to—what was his name again—Ryō?" Chōji asked, while gnawing on a piece of karaage.

"Ryū," Ino snorted. "Big name to live up to, if you know what I mean, which unfortunately he did not."

"Ino!" Sakura punched her in the arm. "Too much information. Also, slightly shallow of you."

"Okay, I was mostly joking," Ino retorted, rubbing her arm. Not that it hurt that much, Sakura knew her own strength. "But kind of not. It was really just one more reason to add to a greatly accumulating pile of things. And I didn't have to put up with that, so I put an end to it." Ino shrugged. "Really, wasn't a loss."

"Well, if you're sure you're alright." Sakura eyed her carefully.

"Eh, just disappointed with most of the males I've dated so far. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so straight, maybe I would've had better luck with girls."

"You know that wouldn't necessarily be easier for you," Sakura said while deftly yet gracefully grabbing a piece of sushi with her chopsticks. "Look at poor Hinata."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Hinata-chan's been crushing on Naruto-chan for years, at least," Chōji said. "I still don't think Naruto's noticed."

"Does she even like other girls?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't underestimate Naruto-chan that much, I'm pretty sure she has an inkling," Sakura mused absentmindedly, waving around a stick of yakitori.

"And didn't she have that crush on you during the Academy?" Ino asked, poking Sakura in the arm.

"Ugh, Ino-pig, cut your nails. And damn, that was so long ago, I've almost completely forgotten about it. She was still acting like a boy back then, right? I've never actually asked, I've always sort of assumed it was part of the whole act," Sakura speculated. "Why, you think it was genuine?"

"I think it's definitely possible," Ino said with a shrug.

"Why don't you just ask her when she gets here?" Chōji suggested.

"What, and be reasonable?" Ino rolled her eyes. "Chōji, how long have we been friends? Half the fun of gossip is scandalous speculation."

"Well, I don't know about you," Sakura announced while pointing at Ino with her now-chickenless stick of yakitori, "but now I wanna know."

At that, Neji paused in the middle of the conversation he had been having with Tenten at the other end of the table, having been listening in the whole time (not that any of the ninja at the table had trouble keeping track of multiple conversations).

"If so, do you think Hinata-sama might have a chance?" He asked, curious.

"Why, are you about to play matchmaker?" Tenten teased her long-time teammate and friend.

"Now that the war is over and Konoha has mostly recovered, we finally have the time to even contemplate more leisurely pursuits," Neji explained. "Naruto is one of my closest and most respected friends, and I only want the best for Hinata-sama, and of course I want both of them to be happy." He sighed, proceeding to take a sip of plum wine.

Right after Neji finished speaking, a certain pigtailed blonde came bounding into the izakaya, hand raised in greeting.

"Hey guys, what's up!" She waved at everyone enthusiastically, plopping down into an open seat next to Sasuke. "I am _starving_ , Baa-chan held me up for way too long and I haven't eaten since I finished training."

"Wasn't that just three hours ago?" Sakura pointed out.

"Yeah, exactly!" Naruto nodded furiously. "I'm gonna die." She immediately grabbed for the menu while simultaneously yelling for one of the waiters to bring one order each of gyoza, karaage, agedashi tofu, and three bowls of ramen to start off.

Sasuke snorted, used to her antics. "Dobe. We were just talking about you."

"Oh yeah?" She eyed Sasuke slightly suspiciously, not sure where the conversation was going.

"Sakura and Ino were debating your sexual orientation," Shikamaru commented succinctly, looking as engaged as he normally was—that is to say, he looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"Oh!" Naruto rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Wait, that's… who I like, right? The kind of people I'm into?"

"Way to make it sound way more boring and weird than it was, Shika," Ino said, annoyed. "But that's essentially accurate. Actually, Naruto, do you remember when you used to say you had a crush on Sakura? When we all—well, except Shikamaru, apparently—thought you were a boy?"

"Oh yeah! That was back when we were all still genin! Man, those were the days."

Sakura smiled, reminiscing. "You used to annoy me so much, shouting 'Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!' all the time."

"Yeah—hey!" Naruto huffed, while Sasuke smirked.

"For some reason you were just so much more annoying as a boy," Sakura sighed.

Ino continued speaking while Naruto made affronted noises in the background. "Anyway, we wanted to know whether that crush was real or not."

"What do you mean, real?" Naruto asked, confused.

"We mean, was it just an act to make you being a boy more convincing?" Sakura asked.

Naruto laughed. "No, I definitely really liked you at the time, Sakura-chan. I thought you were super cute—and you still are! Though I don't feel that way about you anymore. Actually, you were my first crush!" She tipped her head to the side, looking confused. "Why, is that weird?" Naruto looked down, her own insecurity showing on her face. "I didn't have anyone to tell me what was normal and what wasn't growing up, so I'm never sure about these things."

Everyone at the table became a little more somber—though not necessarily more sober—at the reminder of Naruto's neglected childhood.

"DO NOT WORRY, MY YOUTHFUL FRIEND!" Rock Lee shouted. "It only means that you are bursting in the prime of your Springtime of Youth, to have so much love to give."

Surprised, everyone turned to look at Lee, who had appeared abruptly, thumb already raised and teeth glinting in his signature Nice Guy™ pose.

"What the hell, Lee?!" Ino exclaimed.

"I only mean that our friend here should not worry!" Lee insisted.

"No, I think she was commenting more on your abrupt arrival," Tenten stated, amused.

"Lee's right though, Naruto-chan. There's nothing wrong with liking girls, it's just less common." Sakura reassured Naruto. "Wait, do you only like girls?"

"I've never really thought about girl, boy, whatever." Naruto shrugged. "I was actually in a relationship with Gaara for a bit, so—"

"—WAIT, WHAT?" Almost every head at the table turned to stare at the nine-tailed jinchūriki, who had apparently been _with_ with the one-tailed jinchūriki without anyone the wiser. Which, yeah, she was a shinobi, but so were they all and this was _Naruto_. Subtlety really wasn't her forte.

Ino turned to stare accusingly at Shikamaru, who had been the only one to remain unsurprised. "You knew and didn't tell me?"

"Temari told me," he grumbled. "Troublesome."

Sakura turned to the original offender instead. "You never told me about this!" She clutched at her chest in mock betrayal, gasping dramatically. "How could you?"

Naruto looked at everyone in turn, eyes wide. "It slipped my mind?" She rubbed the back of her head again. "It was actually during the latter half my training trip with Ero-sennin. We got to exchanging letters and it just kind of… happened? Honestly, I said a relationship but we never really got any farther than a couple of sort-of dates and holding hands. And then he became Kazekage and since I knew I was still aiming for Hokage we decided to end it, especially since we never really got the chance to see each other as it was. We're still good friends though!"

Sakura groaned. "Ugh, that was so much less exciting than I expected."

"Once an idiot, always an idiot." Sasuke commented with a discreet snort. "And I thought you'd actually say something worthwhile for once."

"Shut up, teme." Naruto flipped a pigtail over her shoulder. "I'm not obliged to entertain you."

"Big words for you, dobe."

"Why, you wanna fight, bast—ooh, food!"

Naruto proceeded to completely ignore Sasuke in order to focus on her incoming feast. Chōji, who had finished all his dishes, began eyeing Naruto's speculatively.

Surveying the slightly younger group of Konoha ninja with an exasperated manner, Tenten sighed. "Why do we hang out with them again?"

Neji looked at the group, then back at Tenten blankly.

"More sake?"

"Sure, why not."

* * *

prompt: it could be real.

notes: sorry this took so long, finals week/the end of this semester is suffocating me one miserable day at a time.

ahem.

more notes at my tumblr, including a japanese glossary because I'm just that nice.


	6. the lotus of konoha blooms

I...uh...got lost on the road of life?

* * *

4 - the lotus of konoha blooms however many damn times it pleases

"I can't find it anywhere!" Naruto cried, pulling on her pigtails in frustration.

"Idiot," Sasuke commented as per usual. (To be honest, Sasuke had a lot of respect for the energetic blonde, but he'd never tell that to her face, even after she eventually became Hokage. Also, to be fair, she was still an idiot sometimes. Most of the time, even.)

At the moment, both Naruto and Sasuke were helping Tsunade with administrative duties; Naruto because she was in training to be Tsunade's successor, Sasuke because he was stuck in the village anyway and Tsunade had no qualms about using what minions she had at hand. However, while Sasuke may have mostly reformed he was still the bastion of kindness and friendship that he'd always been—that is, he continued to be a complete asshole, but at least in a less revenge-obsessed homicidal kind of way.

Sasuke continued speaking. "Are you talking about a file or something?"

Naruto absentmindedly scribbled a comment on a document before flipping it over, scanning the boring language as quickly as possible in order to get it over with. (Sadly, rising up in the world only ever meant more paperwork.) "Nah. It's Kakashi-sensei's birthday next month, and I thought of the most awesome but relatively low-effort prank ever! Or it was _supposed_ to be, but I can't find Gai-style green jumpsuits anywhere! I actually managed to find a bright orange version which tempted me for a moment," (Sasuke mentally shivered at the image), "but it has to be green!"

Sasuke's lips twitched upwards incrementally. "Why don't you just ask Gai where he gets his?"

"But what if he tells Kakashi-sensei? They chat pretty often these days, surprisingly."

"Dobe," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Then ask Lee."

Naruto whipped her head around, staring at Sasuke with wide eyes. "I'm an idiot."

"No shit."

The next thing he knew, Naruto had disappeared from the room, presumably in search of Lee.

Sasuke turned to the large piles of paperwork that remained heaped on the desk in front of him. A few loose sheets floated around, having been disrupted by Naruto's abrupt exit out the window. As they gently made their way to the floor, Sasuke's eyelid twitched in (barely) repressed irritation.

"I'm going to kill her."

* * *

notes: This has been sitting on my drive for way too long. I'm sorry. I really did get kind of overwhelmed by life though - I'm currently in Japan on a language immersion program (and our final exam yesterday was what motivated me to restart this again. Typical. Necessity ain't the mother of invention, y'all. Procrastination is.)

So yaay! Not abandoned. Also, in happier news, this story has reached over 50 favorites, 100 follows, and 5000 views! _W_ _hat even_. I'm shocked. That's more views than there are words in this fic (which is ridiculous)! I'm so, so thankful.

To make up for this unnecessarily long-ass wait, I'll post the next drabble tomorrow night~ (I'm actually traveling to Osaka tonight! I'm so excited.)

Reviews are always highly appreciated ;)


	7. ch-ch-ch-cliché!

遅くなってすみません〜

* * *

5 - ch-ch-ch-cliché!

Kakashi had just reported back from a mission, and wasn't in the best of moods. Tsunade had been making none too subtle overtures about Kakashi becoming Hokage prior to Naruto inevitably taking the hat. The problem was that he didn't see _why_ Tsunade couldn't wait until Naruto was ready, but Tsunade just threw a paperweight as his head, saying "I might be an old woman but I'm still your military dictator so shut the fuck up and listen." Wait—Kakashi could technically order Tsunade around if he became Hokage…but on second thought he didn't actually have a death wish (anymore—we don't talk about it.) He made his way down a hall in the Hokage Tower, when he spotted a certain blonde-haired orange-wearing over-enthusiastic bundle of energy.

Who ran right into him.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto looked surprised and a little out of breath, face tinted pink from exertion. It was a good look on her, Kakashi mused. And then paused, assessing that thought. Nope, moving on.

"Why hello to you too, Naruto. What exactly are you doing?"

"I managed to piss Sasuke off the other day, and I just saw him so now I'm running away." Naruto looked slightly frantic. "I think he's actually really mad, he even activated his Sharingan!"

Ahh, his cute little genin. Good to see they were still the same as always, even as Kage-level monsters of the shinobi world.

"Crap, I think he's coming closer!" Naruto was looking increasingly panicked. "Kakashi-sensei, help!"

Well, he had nothing better to do. Kakashi put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and performed a quick kawarimi with a broom in a nearby supplies closet. (He knew all the best hiding spots in Konoha—had to, to get away from Gai as often as he did.)

Naruto gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks sensei."

Kakashi, on the other hand, had forgotten how small this particular closet was. Having never shared the space with someone else before, he was taken aback by how...very very close Naruto was. Too close. Way too close.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto looked up at him curiously. "You all right?"

He was _not_ all right, he needed his personal space and was finding it increasingly hard to breathe in there. Just as he was about to perform another substitution jutsu to _get the hell out_ , Naruto clamped both hands over his mask in the general vicinity of his mouth.

"Shit, I think that's him," Naruto hissed. "Keep quiet, will you?"

The idiot, he hadn't even been speaking.

They stayed there for a couple more moments until the fast, angry-sounding footsteps faded away. Naruto's took her hands away, looking sheepish.

"Sorry about that. Sasuke's scary when he's mad."

Kakashi opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the violent opening of the door.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke raged, eyes blazing. " _Never again are you leaving me alone with_ ten hours _worth of paperwork, do you hear me?_ " He hissed.

"Eep!" Naruto put her hands up in defense. "I'm sorry, I won't do it again!"

"See that—Kakashi? What are you doing here?"

"Maa, well." Time to go!

 _Poof_. In his place was the original broom, with a little post-it on which he had written "no permanent injuries, okay? :)"

Naruto's eye twitched. _Thanks, sensei_.

Sasuke smirked. "I think I can do that."

"Sasuke, c'mon, it wasn't on purpose! Aren't you overreacting?"

"TELL THAT TO MY WRIST!"

"Eek!"

* * *

 _Good thing Sasuke showed up when he did_. Kakashi whistled as he walked away leisurely, hearing Naruto's panicked cries in the distance. _Well, she's a big girl. She can take care of herself_.

A particularly loud shriek reached his ears.

 _Probably_.

* * *

notes: welp sorry this is a day late but here's the next chapter!

in response to two reviews: from the beginning this fic has always been drabble-length (which, to me, means whatever length I end up writing for that scene, tending to range anywhere from 300 words to a rare 2000ish words), and while all the drabbles are connected in the sense that they're within the same timeline, they're not necessarily chronological. if you read some of my old notes on my tumblr, I explain it in more detail. So far the only ones that have not been in chronological order are the second and fourth chapter (or, as I numbered them, 0.5 and θ.1 - there's actually a reason for the numbers in the title!). I hope you all enjoy anyway, and please leave a review! (also if you have any prompt requests, please feel free to let me know :D)

on a slightly random side note, I spent the day in Nara and my sadly slow brain finally made the connection between Nara... which has a park full of sacred deer running around free, and Nara Shikamaru. "shika" means deer, for those who didn't know. I...felt a little dumb when I finally realized that haha. (also Mitarashi Anko. damn you Kishimoto and your puns.)


	8. fight-oh!

6 - fight-oh!

Hinata peered at Naruto from around the corner of the street, safely hidden from view. It looked like Sakura and Sasuke were both walking back with Naruto from a training session - they each looked a little worse for wear, in that satisfied, relaxed way many ninja looked after a challenging and fulfilling spar with friends. Though she wasn't all that close to their location, she could hear their conversation fairly well. (It helped that they weren't trying to keep their voices down. At all.)

"I definitely had you there, believe it," Naruto grumbled. (And oh, how Hinata adored that verbal tic of hers, even if other people occasionally found it annoying.)

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "If you count missing me by an entire foot a victory."

"Hey! You used your Sharingan when we explicitly stated no crazy stuff! If you can use your Sharingan I can totally ask Kurama for help."

"I was _born_ with the Sharingan!"

"And I was basically born with Kurama! And what about Senjutsu, then, huh? I learned that through my own efforts, you—"

"All right, can we just admit that both of you are ridiculously overpowered and move on?" Sakura raised a fist threateningly with a disarming smile. "And that I can beat both of you into a pummel anyway, let's be honest."

The two turned to rebutt that statement, until they saw the frightening raised fist, and the even more frightening smile.

Naruto gulped. "Hehehe, Sakura-chan, you're still super scary sometimes."

Sakura just shrugged. "Hey, whatever works.'

While Hinata listened on (she wasn't really _eavesdropping_ , per se, this was just a side effect of her main purpose. Which, in retrospect, was tantamount to stalking Naruto and maybe that wasn't much better…), she felt her heart sinking a little. It wasn't that she was jealous, exactly—she loved her teammates, and they had a similar bond, but—what she envied was the easy camaraderie between them and Naruto. Because while she no longer stuttered or turned red quite as often, she still couldn't bring herself to approach the other girl or speak as candidly as much as she wanted to.

 _Damn it, Hinata, where's your courage?_ She gave herself a mini pep talk, trying to channel her inner Naruto voice as much as possible. _You've already defended her from Pein and almost died for her, you can ask her out on a_ —and here she felt heat rising up to her face, and she was sure her ears were already red— _date!_

As the group walked closer to Hinata's location, she shook her head to clear her thoughts and stepped out.

"U-um." _Great beginning, Hinata._ She took a deep breath. _No more stuttering!_ "Naruto-chan!" This time she projected it clearly, gaining a little confidence.

"Hey, Hinata! How are you? I didn't see you at the izakaya last week, did you just get back from a mission?" Naruto split from her teammates to energetically bound closer to Hinata. "It's been too long!"

Hinata smiled at the evidence that Naruto had been thinking about her, if even somewhat. _She manages to encourage me even now_. Hinata looked at the other girl in the eyes. "I got back just yesterday. Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to get ramen together?"

"Sure! Sakura, Sasuke and I were just about to go grab dinner, of course you're welcome!"

"Idiot," Sakura sighed.

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

Hinata just steeled herself once more, having expected this outcome. (One does not observe someone else for most of one's life without learning about their quirks.) "I meant more as a d-d-date. If you're willing?" Hinata knew that her face was bright red at this point, but she resisted staring at the ground, keeping her gaze on Naruto.

Whose mouth was wide open in surprise.

("Shit," Sakura muttered as she handed over some money to a smugly smirking Sasuke.)

"A date? With me?" Naruto's eyes were wide, and Hinata got a bit lost in their blue depths.

(Sasuke shook his head. "Honestly, how thick can you really be—erk!" Sakura elbowed him in the gut.

Which may or may not have been mostly motivated by the recent dip in her savings.)

"Yes, I would l-love to go on a date with you, Naruto-chan!"

Naruto rubbed the back of her head, feeling a little embarrassed. "I've never been asked out on a date before. But I'm always down for ramen!" Naruto's expression brightened into her usual cheerful grin. "And of course, you're adorable, Hinata! I couldn't turn you down." (At this point Hinata thought she might die from heart failure. Or overheating. Or—) "Let's go!"

Naruto took Hinata's hand in her own (spontaneous combustion commencing in 3..2..) and began walking towards Ichiraku, chatting cheerfully the whole way. Both girls seemed to have forgotten about Sakura and Sasuke, though neither of them minded.

Instead, Sakura looked on fondly. "Our little Naruto's all grown up!"

Sasuke snorted. "Have you ever even been asked out on a date be—" Sasuke flew across the street into the side of a building.

Some people never learn.

* * *

prompt: where's your courage?

notes: I count at least five cases of unintentional alliteration in this chapter hahahaha

sorry no Kakashi this time, but I honestly adore everyone in the Naruto!verse in the right circumstances. you won't find any character bashing from me. (although I definitely have hang-ups galore about canon versions of characters. coughsasukecough.)

let me reassure you that I wrote this for kakanaru fluff and that's what you're mostly gonna get, but at the same time I'm trying to write something semi-"realistic" (or as realistic as you can get in the naruto!verse lol) and they're not just gonna fall together (figuratively, though I reserve my right to make them do so literally). at this point kakashi has noticed that naruto is an attractive, adult, female. because she is. but that doesn't mean they're suddenly in love, y'all.

not that I'd know what people are thinking about this story because hardly anyone leaves reviews! please do!

on that note shout out to TheBeauty for having been here since basically day one, and who has left a review on almost every chapter. you're amazing! (and please lemme know if there's a prompt you want me to write a drabble for.)

actually anyone is free to suggest prompts. (pleasereviewcoughcough)

man I must be coming down with a cold or something (coughreview)


	9. dinner date

7 - dinner date

"Well, what do we have here but my favorite customer!" Teuchi boomed loudly, greeting Naruto and her guest.

"Hi, Teuchi-occhan! Actually, could I grab a booth today?"

"Oh?" Teuchi eyed the joined hands, as well as Hinata's furiously blushing visage. He grinned, a slow, suggestive thing. "Is my favorite customer possibly on a _date_?"

"Yup!" Naruto puffed her chest out proudly. "Hinata-chan asked me out on a date to Ichiraku, and of course I couldn't say no!"

Hinata, for her part, wasn't sure she could continue taking all this stimulation. Naruto-chan was holding her hand, and was proudly proclaiming about being on a date! With _her!_ She never imagined that this would be possible, but all her childhood dreams were coming true.

"Of course, of course! Right this way!" Teuchi gestured at one of the booths in the corner, darkly and atmospherically lit. After Pein's invasion, Ichiraku had been rebuilt bigger and better than ever before, now boasting far more tables and servers, and even a second floor. Of course Teuchi didn't greet every customer personally, but he always made a point to welcome Naruto.

"Where's Ayame-oneechan?" Naruto asked, noting the cheerful woman's absence as she made her way to her table.

"She's shopping for supplies at the moment. She probably won't be back for a while; I'm not sure you'll get to see her today."

"Well, that's all right! I'll be back in no time, anyway."

Teuchi smiled proudly. "Of course you'll be!"

As Naruto moved to sit down, Hinata had a brief inner struggle over sitting next to her or across from her. She had often seen couples sitting next to each other, cuddling and even f-feeding each other, but she wasn't sure she was ready for that. Decision made, she let go of Naruto's hand, briefly lamenting the loss before gracefully slipping into the seat across from Naruto.

After Teuchi took their orders and left, winking subtly at Naruto, the two lapsed into a comfortable silence.

"Nee, Hinata-chan. I'm super flattered you asked me out, but, uhh. I'm not really sure why?"

Hinata's pale eyes widened in surprise. "Naruto-chan, you have to know that I've had a crush on you since the Academy!"

"What? _Really?_ " This time it was Naruto's turn to blush deeply, even her ears turning into a bright, habanero red. "Wow, Hinata, you've really always been there for me, huh. To be honest, I thought you were a little weird during the Academy"—at that, Hinata hung her head while Naruto continued, oblivious—"but I was obviously completely wrong! And after all, there's nothing wrong with being weird. Everyone knows I'm probably the weirdest of the bunch, but that doesn't stop me from being awesome!" Naruto beamed brightly at Hinata, who smiled shyly back.

"Although—can I confess something? I'm not really sure how this whole date thing works…" Naruto scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I already told you I've never been asked out on a date, and my last romantic-ish _anything_ was with Gaara years ago. To be honest, I'm not even sure if that counts. In hindsight, that was more Ero-sennin pushing us together for 'research' than anything else."

Hinata, in another burst of courage, took Naruto's hands into hers and looked sincerely into Naruto's (stunningly blue, Hinata couldn't help but notice again) eyes. "Naruto-chan, I promise you I have even less experience in this than you do. But you've always encouraged me to try my best, even when I didn't have the power do so myself. Let's take this one day at a time and see where it goes. There's no rush."

Another comfortable silence drifted over the happy pair, just as Teuchi came bustling back with their orders.

"Here you go! One super large speci—oh, am I interrupting something?"

Naruto and Hinata startled, Hinata pulling her hands back faster than Teuchi's eyes could track.

"Mou, Occhan, don't tease." Naruto pouted. "Bring on the ramen!"

Teuchi happily complied, placing one extremely large bowl in front of Naruto and one regular-sized bowl in front of Hinata. "Enjoy!"

Naruto excitedly snapped her chopsticks apart, Hinata soon following in a more demure manner.

"Itadakimasu!"

* * *

notes: wow, I'm genuinely sorry I'm such shit at updating when I plan to. At least this time I can say this hasn't just been chilling on google drive, I actually just finished writing it today... (is that even a good thing what.)

I'm so happy about everyone's reception to the femnaruhina going on! I was kind of nervous about it, tbh, especially because this promised to be basically straight kakanaru fluff but it seems like a lot of people are all right with me taking the meandering road there. (and we will get there. if anyone desires more straight up fluff, or is getting tired of non-established kakanaru gimme a future prompt and I'll write it for ya)

wowowow next chapter is the tenth one! honestly wasn't sure I'd ever reach this point but here we are! I promise to update that one by tuesday the 18th, may I be smote where I currently lie on my bed if I don't. (that is the past tense of smite, right?)

it's going to be especially long to celebrate the tenth chapter~ currently over 1000 words and counting, and it features our favorite pair! get hype :D

reviews are highly appreciated as always ;)


	10. hush hush

8 - hush hush

 _It's been quiet these days_. Kakashi mused as he walked slowly through the streets, making his way from the Memorial Stone. He didn't visit nearly as much as he did before the Fourth Shinobi World War, but still made a point to do so often. As civilians and shinobi alike stopped to alternatively gawk or wave, Kakashi let out a little sigh. _A little too quiet_. Kakashi would never admit it out loud, but while he definitely didn't miss war, he did miss the lively, relatively carefree days with his cute little genin. _Ah, here's one of them right now. Though I guess she's not that little anymore_ , he conceded with a hint of nostalgia.

No, Naruto definitely wasn't a little girl—or boy, as it were—anymore. She still favored orange, but tended to wear it in more subtle ways than she had as a child. _Thank the Kami-samas_. And she had grown up for sure. Though she'd never be tall, Naruto was a woman now; an adult in her own right.

Naruto, having spotted Kakashi, ran over. "Kakashi-sensei! This is perfect, I was just thinking about you!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Actually…" Naruto looked down, and—was she _blushing_? "Could you meet me tonight? Let's get Ichiraku's together! I'll treat you, even!"

Both of Kakashi's eyebrows were raised in alarm now. Did Naruto just ask him out on a _date_? Was the world ending? No, all of his genin were obviously celibate and had no interest in relationships, there was no way. Had she even had _The Talk_? Wait, right, she did train with Jiraiya for over two years, there's no way she doesn't know what sex is. Hold up, derail that train of thought immediately.

As Kakashi's thoughts swirled, Naruto glanced at her watch. "Oops, I actually have to go, I have a meeting with Baa-chan. I'll see you at six!"

Shit. Now he had to show up.

* * *

Kakashi sat at the counter of Ichiraku's, a vein violently twitching on his forehead. If it weren't for his overwhelming curiosity, he would have left half an hour ago. Instead, he was left waiting here like a loser.

Hatake Kakashi did not get stood up. Ever.

"Hatake-san?" Ayame blushed lightly as she caught the attention of her long-time crush. Not that it was anything serious! Just…no one could see Hatake Kakashi's real face and _not_ develop a tiny crush. And that's all it was! Honestly.

"Yes, Ayame-san?" Kakashi smiled pleasantly, despite his inner frustration. Ayame was pretty cute, after all.

She blushed harder. "Are you sure you don't want to get anything?"

"Ah, no, thank you. I'm actually waiting for someone."

"Waiting for someone?" Ayame furrowed her brow. "A girl?"

"Well, technically speaking."

"All… right..." Hatake-san was beautiful, but man was he strange. Ayame continued pondering the issue as she retreated to take another customer's order. _Still, for Hatake-san to actually wait for almost an hour, this has to be someone special!_ Ayame wasn't sure she liked that. _Silly girl,_ she chastised herself. _You have literally zero claim on him_.

As the clock ticked ever-closer to the hour mark, Kakashi seriously contemplated just leaving. Sure, the man made others wait for him on the daily, but he didn't appreciate having the tables turned on him. Just as he started to get up—screw his curiosity, he'd find Naruto some other time—he spotted Naruto standing by the counter, eyes wide, mouth gaping open.

Kakashi opened his own mouth in preparation for some dry comment about her promptness (he recognized the irony, but he really didn't appreciate being the one made to wait), but in her customary fashion, Naruto beat him to it.

"Kakashi-sensei! You - you're - you're actually already here!" Her finger pointed accusingly at him in shock.

Kakashi paused in his retort to consider that. She was right; for unimportant occasions he always made an effort to be at least an hour late, more out of habit at this point than anything else. This time, he had been so overwhelmed by his own curiosity that he had actually arrived at the time Naruto had specified without considering that, knowing her sensei well, Naruto might have accounted for his perpetual lateness. But still, since when had Naruto of all people planned in advance that way? That showed foresight, a trait Kakashi hadn't been sure Naruto was capable of outside of fights. Children really did grow up fast. He could've sworn that just yesterday, Naruto was meaninglessly spamming shadow clones at him during a spar.

Oh wait, no, right. That was last month.

"Maa, let's just eat, shall we?" Most of his irritation having fizzled out, Kakashi gestured at the seat besides him. Naruto eyed him suspiciously, but sat down and was soon distracted by the prospect of delicious, delicious ramen.

"Hey, Ayame-oneechan! Where's Teuchi-occhan?" Naruto greeted the woman enthusiastically as always.

"He's resting today, says his back is troubling him. He's always complaining about how he isn't as young as he used to be, lately." In her head, Ayame was busy concealing her surprise. _Hatake-san was waiting for_ Naruto _? She is his former student, but… Is something else going on, I wonder?_

"Ahaha, he sounds just like Ōnoki-jīchan! Tell him I said hi, will you?" Naruto giggled.

"Of course, Naruto-chan. An order of your usual?"

"Actually, I'm feeling something spicy today. Surprise me!" Naruto turned to Kakashi. "How about you, Kakashi-sensei? Don't get something expensive just 'cause I'm treating you!"

Kakashi eye-smiled in amusement. "A regular miso ramen sounds great."

"Sure thing! One miso ramen and one surprise ramen coming right up!" As Ayame retreated to the kitchen, her mind swirled with possibilities. _She's treating him? So it's not a date, right? Unless_ she _asked him out? This is so confusing!_

Kakashi's mind was also considering similar thoughts. He decided, in tribute to his dinner companion, to take the direct route.

"So why did you want to grab dinner together?"

"Hmm? What, am I not allowed to want to spend time with you?" Naruto grumbled, crossing her arms in a huff.

"No, no, of course you are." Kakashi conceded. But—that didn't really answer his question. Kakashi continued to sneak glances at Naruto, trying to catch a hint of a reason for this mysterious dinner-slash-definitely-not-a-date.

"So!" Naruto beamed at Kakashi. "Tell me about your recent mission. That's why you haven't been around this month, right?"

"Ah," Kakashi agreed. "Well, outside of the boring classified stuff, I do have a story involving the dogs. At one point Bull managed to get stuck in this tiny doggy door while he was following Pakkun, and instead of helping him Pakkun just sat there and laughed. Problem was, the person we were tracking was in the other room, and I wasn't with them at the time. So apparently the target comes in, and all he can see is this huge wiggling dog butt, and Pakkun's still laughing…"

As Kakashi told his story and Naruto giggled, Ayame came over with their orders. _I'm not sure,_ Ayame mused _, but this really looks like a date_. She noticed Kakashi smiling underneath his mask, his expressive eyes giving him away while Naruto leaned towards him, overcome with laughter. _Ah well, I never had a chance anyway, and he'll be good for Naruto-chan._ Naruto-chan had always been like a little sister to her, and if she had to weigh her tiny crush on Hatake-san against her affection for Naruto-chan, Naruto-chan would win hands down.

"...and of course this is when I come in, while Pakkun is finally telling Bull through snorts that he could just reverse summon himself instead of struggling through the now cracked door."

"Sorry for interrupting, but here're your orders!" Ayame placed a extra large super spicy duck ramen in front of Naruto, and a regular miso ramen in front of Kakashi. "Let me know when you want more, Naruto-chan!" Ayame winked.

"Thank you, Ayame-san." Kakashi said.

Naruto, still giggling, waved to catch Kakashi's attention. "Hey hey, you can't stop there! What happened next?"

"Maa, patience, Naruto. Well, I'm just in time to see Bull poof away, and I hear a loud 'what the hell?' from the other side of the door. I recognized the target's voice and didn't want him to catch me there, so I…"

 _Definitely a date!_ Ayame thought as she hurried away. _I've never seen Naruto ignore ramen before!_

* * *

After they had each finished their meals, Naruto's multiple bowls stacked high compared to Kakashi's more modest pile of two, Naruto turned to Kakashi and began to speak.

"Actually, you were right earlier, sensei. I did have an actual reason for asking you out tonight."

' _Asking me out?'_ Kakashi's eyes widened. _Naruto probably just meant that casually, but I'm alarmingly not sure at this point, and I don't want to ask. Kami, I hate confrontation._

"It was your birthday two weeks ago, right? I wasn't able to give you your present because you were on your mission, so I thought I could do that now!"

Kakashi let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and preceded to smile. _Ahh, that's why. My students are so adorable._ "Maa, you didn't have to. But thank you, Naruto. I don't see anything, though…?"

"I sealed it away so that I could keep it a surprise!" With a proud smile, Naruto pulled out a scroll with a flourish, laying it out and channeling some chakra into it. A present poofed into existence, wrapped in an unassuming grey.

"Can I open it now?"

"Of course!" Naruto's eyes sparkled with excitement. Kakashi pulled the present toward him with no small amount of curiosity, and began to unwrap it slowly. The air was almost palpable with Naruto's anticipation. As Kakashi opened the box, he spotted—was that—no, Naruto couldn't possibly be that cruel—it was. Youthful green filled Kakashi's vision as he pulled out a full-length, authentic (damn the Sharingan. Kakashi didn't have it anymore, but he still remembered the sight of the accursed thing), Gai-approved jumpsuit.

Naruto burst into laughter. "You," she gasped, struggling to speak. "Your face!" She bent over, gasping her stomach as tears of mirth filled her eyes.

Kakashi continued to stare at the jumpsuit, unable to tear his eyes away. _Is is worth giving this to Gai?_ Kakashi wondered. _Or should I just burn it_? Kakashi considered it some more, before ultimately deciding to kill it with fire. Maybe he'd ask Sasuke if he'd be willing to use Amaterasu. It was for a noble cause, after all. Sasuke might even enjoy it.

Naruto guffaws had petered out into manageable giggles. "Look inside," she gestured at the box.

Kakashi put aside the jumpsuit, reluctantly looking inside, half-expecting some other prank. Instead, he saw another storage seal.

"Go on!" Naruto encouraged. "I swear it's not a prank this time."

"It better not be," Kakashi warned, reaching his hand in to release the seal.

"You'll like this for sure!" Naruto grinned exuberantly, a definite blush coloring her cheeks this time. Kakashi wasn't sure whether it was from excitement or embarrassment—but why would she be embarrassed by her gift?

A puff of smoke revealed a stack of paper. On the top, Kakashi could see the words _Icha Icha Resort_ written in Jiraiya's scrawl. Was this possibly...? Kakashi's eyes were large as he stared at Naruto and the sheaf of paper in turn, having temporarily lost the ability to speak. Could she have really...?

Naruto's face was bright red at this point, head ducked sheepishly, hand rubbing the back of her head like she always did when she was feeling uncertain. "I've held onto this for a little while now because Ero-sennin wrote it, but I thought you might appreciate it more than me. It's not finished, but I actually added an ending based on what he told me he was planning. Take good care of it, ne?"

Kakashi picked up the stack of paper reverently. "I'll treasure it always," he murmured, voice thick with emotion. "Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto, surprised by Kakashi's uncharacteristic display of emotion, simply hummed in response. After a short moment of comfortable silence, Naruto suddenly sat up straight in her seat, eyes wide.

"Oh crap, Kakashi-sensei! Do you know what time it is?"

Kakashi, startled out of his reverie, answered more hesitantly than usually. "Around 8:35, I'm pretty sure."

"I'm late! I promised I'd meet Hinata-chan at 8:30! Sorry sensei, I gotta run!" Naruto started gathering her things, yelling for Ayame. "Nee-chan, lemme get the check!"

Just before Naruto rushed off, Kakashi grabbed her by the wrist. "It's all right, Naruto." He eye-smiled. "You gave me such a wonderful present that was definitely worth more than just a meal. I'll treat you this time.. I don't want you to be late for your date, after all." He winked.

"Are you sure? Thank you so much, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto rushed off, waving a quick goodbye to Kakashi and a startled Ayame.

 _I was just teasing, but she didn't deny it_. Kakashi hummed as he collected his gifts, making sure to tuck the unpublished draft away carefully. _Is it possibly an actual date?_ _I need ask Sakura—being away on missions all the time really leaves me out of the loop._

Ayame came over to Kakashi, bemused. "What was that all about?"

"Ah, she was just late for something. I'll take the check, please."

"Got it!" Ayame hurried away, concealing her shock. _Such an eventful meal!_ Ayame squealed, just a little. _This is the first time I've ever seen Hatake-san pay for someone else!_

Meanwhile, Kakashi was coming to a slow realization of his own. _Wait, if Naruto added her own ending to Icha Icha Resort_ , he stared down at the bag containing the draft, _did Naruto just write and gift me_ porn _for my birthday?_

* * *

prompt: isn't it too quiet?

sorry this is almost two weeks later than I promised (lol I was not indeed smote where I lay) but as my friend said, it's better than two years! ;D

I changed my name for reasons. (mostly because I thought that last one didn't really fit me anymore. apolausta comes from apolaustic - devoted to enjoyment (which, if you know me, is real af).

also YAAAY the tenth chapter! I never thought I'd reach this point lmao. I celebrated by making it the longest chapter so far at just over 2,300 words! WOOOO! (don't get used to it though. honestly.)

I've been dumb busy - busy enough that I'm literally posting this in the ten minutes I have free. three cities back and forth in like a week, designing a curriculum for high schoolers, teaching two classes a day, additional activities like all the freaking time and also lots of japanese (I am not japanese so this is draining). christ I'm exhausted. therefore **please review!** it deeeefinitely motivates me to write, and stokes that muse! (tbh the muse is dwindling slightly so hit me up, brah, hit me up). also they just make my week so like pls.

thank you as always for reading! (if you enjoyed - or not, haha - revieeeew)


	11. say what

drops in shamelessly after five months with this piece of fluff

* * *

θ.2 - say what

 _~ sometime in the future ~_

Sunlight filtered in through the half shuttered window, lazily pooling onto long splayed blonde hair on white sheets. Kakashi watched the way Naruto's hair glistened and the way her chest rose and fell as she slept, simultaneously taking the opportunity to trace patterns on Naruto's back. He stayed silent while Naruto shifted as she blinked into wakefulness, letting out a giggle. Her eyes turned towards Kakashi, and she let out a soft yelp.

"Kakashi!" She squirmed, wriggling against her bed mate's body. "Stop that!" Naruto's voice rasped with the early morning. "It tickles." She whined, looking up at Kakashi with a hint of a pleading.

Kakashi never could resist those eyes. Changing his tracings into massaging, he watched as Naruto arched into the touch now. Naruto moved more like a cat than a fox, managing to stretch with slow, languid, movements, muscles melting into a puddle. Kakashi took pleasure in the quiet hitches of breath which indicated Naruto's pleasure, and when she let out an audible groan Kakashi grinned in satisfaction.

"Now this is not a bad way to wake up," Naruto mumbled into her pillow. Kakashi, chuckled, hands confidently finding other knot to work on. At this point, he knew exactly how hard Naruto liked her massages, and Naruto was currently reaping the benefits.

Soon, Kakashi slipped his nimble hands underneath Naruto's soft cotton shirt, movements becoming slightly more purposeful. Naruto shifted, smirking at Kakashi with half-lidded eyes, a familiar heat pooling into her gut. She reached up, lazily throwing her arms around Kakashi's deliciously broad shoulders. Hands grappling for grip, Naruto pulled Kakashi's shirt off in one smooth mood, pausing to appreciate the view before pulling him back in. Kakashi smirked in anticipation, licking his lips before meeting Naruto's with enthusiasm.

As things quickly got more heated, Naruto paused for a moment, pulling back and murmuring, "do you hear something?"

"Hmm?" Kakashi's mind lagged to catch up.

"Oh, no." Naruto closed her eyes and groaned in response to a quick pattering of steps leading up to their bedroom door.

It burst open with a boom, and a blonde streak of messy hair zoomed across the floor to hop onto the bed with gusto.

"Mama! Papa! It's Sunday! That means we're gonna go hiking with the doggies, right? Right?"

Naruto sat up, quickly giving thanks for having not yet taken her shirt off. "Nami, it's way too early." She ruffled her daughter's hair affectionately. "Where's your brother?"

"Nii-chan's still in bed." Nami sniffed, pouting adorably. "He told me to buzz off."

Naruto smiled in amusement, and glanced over at the large blanket-covered bundle next to her.

"What's Papa doing?" Nami asked curiously.

"He's hiding from the morning."

"That's silly." Nami poked the blanket-covered mass skeptically.

"Well, Papa's silly."

A silver-covered head cautiously peeked out, exaggeratedly pouting.

"Maa, that's just mean. Good morning, my little ball of sunshine."

"Good morning, Papa!" Nami wriggled in amusement.

"Why don't you go wake your brother up, Nami?" Naruto suggested.

"Okay!" Nami half-hopped, half-fell off the bed, rushing away to complete the task. "Nii-chan!"

Naruto laughed and turned to her husband, who groaned with anguish into the pillow.

"Such bad timing," he bemoaned.

"Shush, you big grump." Naruto picked up Kakashi's shirt and threw it at him, whereupon he snatched it out of the air and put it on with an air of discontentment. "Shall we start breakfast?"

Kakashi sighed. "Guess there's not much choice now." As he swung his legs off the side of the bed, he took the chance to bend down and give Naruto one last peck. "We really do need to set up some alone time soon though." He waggled his eyebrows in jest as Naruto giggled.

"I think Sai still owes me a favor," she mused. "We can ask him to watch the kids for a bit."

"Oh no," Kakashi declared as he made his way to the bathroom. "I am not letting Nami near him without adult supervision."

"Hey, Inojin's a good kid, isn't he?"

"I'm gonna credit that to Ino."

Naruto shrugged, stretching out and luxuriating in the last few moments she had before she really needed to get up. Before long, though, she heard her son's voice from down the hall.

"Nami, go a _way_."

"Mama said to wake you up!'

Letting out a sigh (oh, the joys of parenthood), Naruto was there within the literal blink of an eye, casually leaning against the doorframe, lips quirked in amusement.

"C'mon, Kumade, time to wake up."

Kumade rolled over and groaned into his pillow. "Is the sun even out yet?"

"It certainly is," Naruto smirked. "Don't make me ask Papa to sic the dogs on you."

"Did I just hear my name?" Kakashi stuck his head through the door, looking around in mock confusion.

"Alright, I'm up, I'm up!" In his haste, Kumade tangled his legs with his blankets and fell off the side of the bed, dragging his bedding and his pillows with him as he tumbled to the floor. "Ow!"'

Nami let out peals of delight as Naruto and Kakashi just chuckled. Kumade glared at them all before bursting into laughter himself.

"Pancakes!" Naruto declared after the laughter had subsided. "Why don't you two start setting up?"

"Okay!" Nami tugged on her brother's arm, pulling him along. "Let's go Nii-chan!"

Not needing any more encouragement now that the promise of pancakes was on the horizon, he let himself be pulled along with little fuss. "I call dibs on licking the bowl!"

"Aww!"

"Any preferences for toppings?" Naruto asked Kakashi as they slowly began to follow their children to the kitchen.

"Maa, do we have any blackberries?"

"I think we have some in the fridge…"

* * *

notes: I have my first final tomorrow lmao which means obviously this is happening for the first time in forever.

when did I get over 200 follows? (crazy. here's your thanks.)

on names: Kumade means bamboo rake, which is a symbol of good luck but is also in the same tradition as Kakashi (scarecrow) and Sakumo (probably from _sakumotsu_ , which means produce). Nami means wave, which is in the same tradition as Uzumaki (whirlpool), Naruto (maelstrom), Minato (harbor), and, well, Namikaze (which I didn't realize until I wrote this out lol. it means wave+wind).

the alliteration (Kumade/Kakashi; Nami/Naruto) was actually completely coincidental.

/flails back out to actually start studying


	12. baby don't hurt me

we return to our irregularly scheduled programming (ha)

* * *

9 - baby don't hurt me

"Hey, Sai?"

Sai hummed to indicate he was listening as his pencil continued to sketch out Naruto's form. Naruto was lying against a tree trunk, resting after a training session. She fiddled with her fingers and hesitated before speaking, which made Sai put down his sketchbook and look at Naruto directly.

"It's about Hinata," she said finally.

"I see," Sai remarked, resuming his drawing. Sai had heard that Naruto had recently been having closer relations with the Hyuuga heiress, and assumed that this was what he had often heard ensued between close female friends after the onset of a romantic relationship. Perhaps Naruto needed a stand-in for Sakura. "Is this...girl talk?"

Naruto threw Sai a dirty look before shrugging and continuing. "I didn't know who to ask, okay? It's not like Sakura has dated any girls before and I wasn't going to ask the bastard, even though you're not much better."

Sai wondered idly whether that was an insult. "And you thought I'd be the best option? I'm flattered."

"Hey, haven't you read books about this or something? Look, I don't know!" Naruto tugged on a pigtail and huffed. "I'm just a little confused on where Hinata and I stand in this relationship, I guess. She told me she's liked me since we were kids, which obviously made me really really happy to hear, but I don't know exactly what that means?" Naruto shook her head. "I mean we've held hands, and even kissed a few times, but there's no real inclination to do more on. Hinata seems to be happy but I don't know." She laced her fingers together and stared at them.

"Ah," Sai nodded. "Are you asking me about sexual intercourse?"

"Why did I think I could go to you?" Naruto threw up her hands in frustration and rolled over onto her stomach, throwing her face into the grass to stifle her embarrassment.

"I was given to understand that healthy relationships often include a sexual component."

Naruto paused before sputtering and sitting up, grass sticking out of her hair, face bright red. "Oh my god, Kurama!" She then turned to glare at Sai. "And you! Did you read that somewhere too?"

"Senpai's recommended novels, of course. It was made pretty obvious in the first volume of _Icha Icha_ but the trend seems to continue throughout the entirety of the series."

"Oh my god." That was the second time she's said that in a relatively short period. Sai wondered why she was so emotional. "Kakashi-sensei recommended you _Icha Icha_? I don't know whether I should blame him or Ero-sennin more."

"Perhaps they share equal blame," Sai mused. "But I hear you added to the series recently, so I don't see why you're at all irritated."

Naruto looked mortified. "Added to the series?"

"Senpai was giggling more than normal and reading a cover I hadn't seen before. He mentioned you had written some of it."

"Oh my god!" Naruto shot up, face even redder than before, and stomped away. Huh, that was three times now.

Rustling grass and cracked twigs marked her departure. Sai shrugged and went back to his sketchbook, recounting Naruto's angrily red face and quickly sketching her expression before he heard a shout echo and birds fluttering away from her direction.

"Shut _up_ , Kurama!"

Sai sighed.

* * *

notes: gah I have no excuses so I won't give any.

I'm sad I missed this fic's one year anniversary though ;_:

I wish I could promise regular updates but I will promise the next one will come earlier than these last two have (haha...). I'm about to head off to Japan again (this time for an internship) so who knows how much time I'll have, but I'll try to write on the plane.

please do drop a review~


	13. never late is better

woah it's only been a month! enjoy~

* * *

10 - never late is better (unless late is your personal philosophy)

Kakashi absentmindedly scratched behinds Guruko's ears as he went over an inventory of his supplies. As an elite jōnin he got the special village discount on the best-quality gear, but that didn't mean he didn't have to constantly maintain it; if anything, his status meant that he was in high demand for missions and had to frequently repair and restock.

He frowned at one kunai, picking it up and testing the edge (Guruko whined at the sudden loss of a good head-scratching). _Can I salvage this one?_ He sighed and threw it into to trash pile. _Maybe I should make some more explosive tags._ He also needed to pick up some soldier pills and smoke bombs. There was a Hatake clan recipe for soldier pills, but they didn't hold a candle up to the Akimichi versions and really weren't worth the effort of making them. He resolved to pick some up from the shops soon. Maybe he could finagle Sakura into making some more effective ones (as opposed to the custom-made weaker "mud balls" Sakura delivered by the dozens to Naruto).

A bark from his left interrupted Kakashi's musings. "Bull?" He looked at Pakkun, who was resting lackadaisically on Bull's head, for an interpretation.

"Someone's approaching the door. I'm pretty sure it's Naruto," Pakkun responded. He proceeded to delicately lick at his paw.

Naruto? That's a surprise. Wait, she wasn't here to scold him for missing her birthday, right? It wasn't really his fault, he had been out on another mission—the fact that he had chosen a mission which coincidentally also allowed him to miss the end-of-war anniversary festivities had nothing to do with Naruto and more to do with his own anti-social tendencies. While having a chance to talk to his father and seeing Minato-sensei through Edo Tensei did a lot to heal old scars, he still didn't want to be forced to celebrate on the day he'd lost some of the people he'd counted as family. Some of the family—Kakashi felt a flash of painful guilt—that Naruto had never really had the chance to get to know.

Not to mention that Naruto had gotten _him_ a truly excellent birthday present this year. Maybe...he'd think of something. But for now it was time to make an escape. He eyed a window speculatively, opening it and hopping out, taking a moment to turn around with a shushing finger to his lips and winking at his ninken before disappearing.

Pakkun rolled his eyes.

There was a knock at the door. "Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto sounded uncharacteristically tentative. "Kakashi-sensei, I heard a bark, I know you're in." Bull barked again and panted excitedly, tail thumping against the floor. Pakkun sighed, smacked Bull's head from his perch atop it and hopped down, taking pity on the girl and going to open the door.

"Kaka—" Naruto's hand was in mid-knock. "Pakkun?" She looked down at the dog, bemused. "How did you open the door?"

Pakkun snorted and ignored the question. "Kakashi isn't here."

Naruto peered into the room, spotting all the equipment on the table and the ninken lolling around. "Did he just leave…?" She shrugged. "Honestly, it doesn't have to be Kakashi-sensei, I just wanted someone to talk to and last time I tried talking to Sai about this stuff it was terrible."

Pakkun raised a brow skeptically. "And you came to talk to Kakashi? He's emotionally constipated, you know."

Naruto puffed her cheeks in irritation. "Sakura's busy and no way in hell am I talking to Sasuke about this."

Pakkun eyed Naruto. "Well," he drawled, his tail giving a subtle twitch, as if resisting an instinct. "How good are you at belly rubs?"

Naruto grinned widely. "I'm the best!" She declared, and took the question as invitation to bound into the apartment.

* * *

"You're telling me Naruto came over to ask for _relationship advice_?" Kakashi asked Pakkun incredulously.

"Not exactly advice, I'd say, since she already split up with Hinata. Seems like it was amicable enough though." Pakkun rolled over, paws in the air. "You should invite her over more often, she gives excellent belly rubs."

The rest of Kakashi's ninken woofed in agreement, tails wagging happily.

Kakashi shook his head, turned back to his supply inventory, and proceeded to pointedly ignore them.

* * *

prompt: climb inside

notes: oops I totally forgot I was basing this on prompts for a while but prompts are so much easier hehe

shout out to InvisibleNinja1234's review for kickstarting me into finishing this chapter (yes guys reviews do motivate me to post faster winkwinknudgenudge)

we're finally moving along in the plot! honestly when is this series gonna finish who knows.

as always let me know if you have any requests ^^


	14. gimme a sign

I'm on a roll~

* * *

9.5 - gimme a sign

Hinata was happy.

How could she possibly be anything else? For once, it felt like everything in her life was going well. She was maintaining good relations with her cousin, clan tensions hadn't worsened her camaraderie with her little sister, and even her rocky relationship with her father was looking up. She had fully mastered the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, and was now working on more advanced Hyuuga techniques. And perhaps most importantly of all, Uzumaki Naruto was finally, actually, Hinata's g-girl- _girlfriend._

Hinata was happy, she really was.

So why was she seriously contemplating ruining everything for herself?

Because Hinata has loved Naruto for years and years now. It seems as if as long as she'd been training to be a ninja, she'd had a crush on Naruto. But that wasn't quite true, was it? She entered the academy before she ever met Naruto, and to say that Naruto was her only motivation for becoming stronger would be a lie, and a discredit to herself. Naruto hadn't even been here for three years, and while Hinata had remembered her, had kept her in the back of her mind...

The people who really kept her going were the ones she saw every day. Kiba, who was brash but always kind and never stopped encouraging her, never stopped telling her to try again and to try harder. Shino, who was calm and quiet but not as mysterious as he seemed at first, who always listened to her problems and responded with thoroughly thought-out advice. Kurenai-sensei, who had more faith in Hinata than Hinata had in herself and consequently pushed her to constantly improve. Neji-niisan, who was willing to give her advice about the Byakugan and didn't pull punches, verbal or otherwise, who told her that she had a responsibility to better herself and the clan. Hard-working Hanabi, who never stopped admiring or loving her.

Hinata had gotten so used to the idea of loving Naruto, and it wasn't a lie to say that she still did. She would die for her, had in fact almost died for her already and would do it again at the drop of a hitai-ate.

But now that she had everything she'd always thought she wanted, she wasn't sure whether Hinata was _in love_ with Naruto. And while a part of her was willing to nurture this love, allow it to grow into something sweet and content and fulfilling—

More than anyone else in Konoha, more than anyone else on this entire damn _planet_ , Naruto deserved a passionate love, a love that consumed her and spurred her on and made her desperately, breathlessly happy. Because Hinata knew that Naruto had an infinitely large heart that didn't want to hurt others, so Naruto would stay with her, happy that Hinata loved her, because Naruto never asked for too much for herself. She gave and gave and gave, always doing her best for her precious people, always upholding her _nindō_ , her way of the ninja.

But Hinata's nindō was adopted from Naruto's, and she, too, wanted the best for her precious people. Naruto would always be important to her, the catalyst that jumpstarted Hinata's determination and tempered her will to a shuriken-sharp edge; but perhaps Hinata was not the one meant to stand at Naruto's side for the rest of her life.

So now (even though a part of her didn't want to give this up), Hinata resolved to do what was best for Naruto.

After all, it was the one thing she couldn't trust Naruto to do for herself.

* * *

notes: woah this is some unprecedented shit (it's only been what, three days?)

this obviously takes place before last chapter hehe. thanks to fluffpenguin for asking the question that prompted this chapter!

writing this chapter I had to confront my—honestly—dislike for Hinata as a character. because as Kishimoto-sensei (shakes fist) portrays her, she's just so... _flat_. like many people, I basically ignore Naruto canon after chapter 699 /sigh


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